Burial-garment.



Patented June 4, 1912.

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COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH 20.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

G. C. HOLGOMB.

BURIAL GARMENT. v APPLIOATION FILED MAY 15, 1906.

Patented June 4, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C 2 2 /4// V 0 w i srarns rarnnr orrrcn CHARLES C. HOLCOMB, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO RICHMOND CASKET COMPANY, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, A CORPORATION INDIANA.

BURIAL-GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1912.

Application filed May 18', 1906. Serial No. 317,455.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. HOLCOMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana,haveinvented certain new and useful Imp-rovements in Burial-Garments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to what are commonly known as burial garments and the object thereof is to provide a coat and vest of such form and construction as not only to resemble tailor-made garments, but in fact to embody the details thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a form of coat and vest capable of being easily and conveniently applied by the undertaker.

The coat and vest of a burial garment as now commonly used do not have the appearance or make-up of regular tailor-made garments, especially as the port-ion of the garment to represent the vest is a mere strip of cloth made in the semblance of the middle portion of a vest and sewed or secured to the inner side of the coat close to the vertical edges thereof. Moreover, in the usual form of burial garments a shirt bosom or dickey is also secured to the vest with the result that no relative adjustment of the coat and vest with respect to the shirt bosom is possible.

By the use of my invention, I am enabled to provide a coat and vest having every ap pearance of and containing the details of tailor-made garments and also possessing features of advantage and utility as respects the application of the garments by the un dertaker.

My form of coat and vest possess other features of advantage which are of importance in the exhibiting, sale and transporting of the same, for instance, a coat and vest embodying my invention occupies only one third as much space in a box as required for the usual burial suit, because the latter is combined with the shirt bosom and collar, thus requiring space to properly raise up and give form to the garments (whereas a burial shirt such as used by me may be laid in the foot of the box) so that at least three of my burial suits or three suits of different styles or qualities may be placed in a box of the size heretofore used for a single suit; also, the attachment of the shirt bosom or dickey to the burial suit gives a stiff and ployed for all sizes of corpses; again, my

form of suit may be arranged loosely in the box and held by straps such as in a dress s'u1t case so that one suit or several suits in ,a single box may be readily removed and fully exhibited to the purchaser, whereas heretofore the suit has been stitched or otherwise secured to the box so that it is impossible to fully exhibit the same and in fact it is not desirable todo so, owing to the sham character of the old form of suit; and furthermore, economy results not only in the cost of the containing boxes for the suits but also in freight, as smaller boxes may be employed. In addition, owing to the factthat the suit is separate from the shirt, a great variety of styles of suit and qualities of material may be provided andlikewise a considerable number of combinations of such suits and different styles of shirts is possible. Still another and an important advantage of my burial garment is based upon the fact that the garment, instead of being of the usual sham character, is complete and may therefore be freely exhibited to the purchaser (whether he or she be acquainted with the usual character of burial garments or not) without liability of losing the purchasers confidence and thereby losing the sale of the garment as well as of the other accessories of a burial.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a front ele vation of my improved make or form of coat and vest; Fig. 2 a rear elevation thereof; Fig.3 a rear elevation with the back of the coat thrown open to expose the rear of the vest; and Fig. 4 a plan view of the ves alone. p

Referring to the present embodiment of my invention as illustrated in the drawings the coat 1 is made as usual, even to the inner lining thereof, with the exception that the coat is split all the way down the back at the center thereof and likewise the collar 2 is split or open at the back. In other words, the coat is made in separate right and left hand sections. For the purpose of enabling the open ends of the collar to be brought and secured together in order to fit the coat upon the corpse I provide the ends of the collar with tapes or straps 3 which can be brought together and tied as seen in Fig. 1.

Referring to the present embodiment of my invention, the vest 4, which maybe made in one or two pieces or sections as desired, is clearly shown in Fig. 4 where the same is illustrated alone and before the same has been attached or secured to the coat. The vest is provided with two upper extensions 4* between which is formed the opening to expose the bosom of the shirt and the collar and which are secured at their upper ends by sewing or otherwise to the inner side of the shoulder of the coat as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. The vest is also provided with two similar extensions or flaps 4* proceeding laterally from the front of the vest and adapted to be extended around the body and to be held together or in proper place by means of the straps or tapes 5. The vest is secured along the lines 4 to the inside of the coat and at some considerable distance from the line of buttons 4& or middle front line of the vest, such lines of attachment extending downwardly from points slightly in front of the arm pits and being as a whole substantially below the arm holes of the coat, the result of this construction being that the coat front may be opened considerably if "desired, whereas in the usual form of suit this is impossible, owing to the fact that the coat is secured to the portion representing the vest near the line of buttons or middle line of the latter.

A coat and vest made as above described resemble tailor-made garments and may embody the details thereof and moreover, the same are so made that they can be accommodated to corpses of different sizes by simply taking up more or less of the slack in the back of the coat and vest and in the collar. Furthermore, it is my intention to employ in connection with this coat and vest a burial shirt which is separate therefrom so that the coat and vest and the shirt may be rela t-ively adjusted whereas in the usual burial garments this is impossible owing to the fact that the shirt and portion representing the vest are secured or sewed permanently to- .7

gether. This burial shirt which is of novel construction is made the subject matter of Letters Patent No. 928,655, granted upon a companion application filed simultaneously herewith.

I claim:

A burial garment comprising two similar and separate coat sections, said sections hav ing means at the back of the collar for holding them together, and .two similar and separate vest sections having upper exten-' sions secured respectively to the inner side of the shoulders of the coat and having lower lateral extensions provided with means for holding the vest sections together at the back.

CHARLES C. HOLCOMB.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

